CHAMPAIGN — Young people raised in homes with violence can struggle to cultivate healthy relationships later in life. A group of local organizations is trying to intervene early.
“Breaking the Cycle” is the first in a series of conversations around teen dating violence. The series is hosted by Courage Connection, a nonprofit organization that provides resources to people experiencing domestic violence, in collaboration with the Champaign County Community Coalition.
The event took place at the CityView Banquet Hall in Champaign Wednesday night.
February is teen dating violence awareness month, and Courage Connection has already hosted several resource tables and conversations about this issue, according to Matthew Fletcher, interim executive director and director of development and outreach.
“One of the things that we know as domestic violence professionals is that this cycle starts at a very early age,” he said. “Often it is the case that children who grow up in households where there is domestic violence present, are disproportionately at higher risk of becoming survivors of domestic violence and also perpetrators.”
To disrupt this cycle, he said one of the goals for the event was to amplify the voices of teenagers who see this type of abuse on a regular basis.
The event featured a youth panel, composed of 2 speakers ranging from age 16 to 20, who discussed the complexities of dating now with the inclusion of social media and everpresent technology.
They spoke about how the norms and “rules” of dating are completely different from older generations, as are the ways in which teens and young people experience relationship abuse.
One of the panelists was Aja Hunter, a sophomore at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who shared how she has seen domestic violence throughout her life. She spoke about how implementing boundaries is one of the most important measures to prevent relationship violence.
“This [event] could help or make them understand,” Hunter said. “You can be yourself and you need to have those boundaries because there’s no need to change who you are and what you do for someone that doesn’t respect you and who you are.”
The youth panel was followed by a panel of representatives from different areas of intervention for youth relationship violence, from the CU Trauma & Resilience Initiative, Rape Advocacy, Coulseling and Education Services (RACES), Champaign County CASA and the City of Champaign Equity and Engagement Department.
Panelists discussed local resources and referred back to the youth speakers, emphasizing the importance of putting the voices of young people at the forefront of these conversations. They also discussed the importance of ensuring young people have trusted adults to confide in.
Panelists discussed ways that their respective organizations can work to help young survivors of domestic violence and relationship abuse. The speakers also highlighted local resources available to survivors, including a 24/7 crisis hotline for confidential assistance, counseling, shelter, legal advocacy, education and medical support.
Courage Connection is planning to host additional events around the topic of teen and youth relationship violence, Fletcher said.
“As is the case with any sort of effective work, it can’t be a one-off,” he said. “It’s about having a consistent presence. It’s about being able to actually talk through what sort of strategies that can be implemented, but then come back and evaluate to see if we were successful.”